Battle of Europa
The Battle of Europa was a major space engagement between the United Nations and the Secessionist League on March 22, 2160. The third major engagement of the Jovian Moons Campaign began when League space forces attacked the assembled ships of the United Nations Space Authority near Europa, with the intent to destroy what was perceived as the weaker half of a divided fleet; instead, Space Authority warships thoroughly defeated the League task force, destroying seven of nine attackers and capturing the remainder. While a major victory for the United Nations, Europa - the effective bastion of UN stability in Jovian Space - was seen as threatened, and UNSA Command was compelled to withdraw its warships from Ganymede, creating an opening the League quickly exploited. Background On March 2, 2160, ground and space forces of the Secessionist League launched surprise attacks on the United Nations in Jovian Space. League spacecraft attacked United Nations Space Authority warships near Callisto and Io as League ground forces ambushed UN personnel on both moons; while the League achieved complete surprise, their intended victims resisted more fiercely than anticipated. In both instances, UNSA space forces destroyed their League counterparts and subsequently secured safe extraction for all UN ground personnel. Despite losing two space engagements, the League secured temporary strategic victory and effective control of both Callisto and Io. With Europa strengthened by the forces withdrawn from Io and Callisto, UNSA Command began immediate operations: four destroyers and a detachment of marines were sent to defend Ganymede while four destroyers remained at Europa, including the badly damaged ''Alexandria''. The repair ship ''Perseverance'' was ordered to Europa from Neptune, bringing with it an additional destroyer, increasing the firepower of the UNSA defense force. Despite this increased firepower, the Secessionist League launched a major attack on the Space Authority warships.There is some question as to whether the League strike force even knew about the deployment of the ''New York'' to Europa, or the implications of the presence of the ''Perseverance''. The League sent nine armed spacecraft, intending to overwhelm an ill-prepared and divided enemy; with the Europa fleet destroyed and the large UN garrison isolated, the secessionists would be free to assault Ganymede without fear of interference. Order of battle United Nations *[[UNSC Enterprise (D-1)|UNSA Enterprise]], destroyer (flagship) *[[UNSC Alexandria (D-26)|UNSA Alexandria]], destroyer *[[UNSC Johannesburg (D-10)|UNSA Johannesburg]], destroyer *[[UNSC New York (D-21)|UNSA New York]], destroyer *[[UNSC Sacramento (D-25)|UNSA Sacramento]], destroyer *[[UNSC Perseverance (AR-1)|UNSA Perseverance]], repair ship Secessionist League *''Champion'', destroyer (flagship) *''Crimson Storm'', destroyer *''Freedom's Vanguard'', destroyer *''Redeemer'', destroyer *''Big Aeolus'', armed large freighter *''Defiance'', armed medium freighter *''Fury'', armed small freighter *''Otto's Revenge'', armed small freighter *''Sword of Justice'', armed small freighter Outcome dispute There has been significant debate over the exact nature of the United Nations victory at the Battle of Europa. While the victory itself is not disputed, the quality of that win - whether as a tactical victory and strategic loss, or as a long-term decisive victory - has been long-debated. Professor Hans Schwarzkopf of Leipzig University, a major proponent of the "tactical win-strategic loss", contends that while the UN space force was unquestionably successful in defeating its immediate opponents, UN civilian leadership was sufficiently intimidated, resulting in the withdrawal from Ganymede; the subsequent siege dramatically impacted trade by strangling the largest spaceport of the outer system colonies, doing far greater economic damage than would have been achieved by threatening Europa. Opposite Schwarzkopf is military historian Jordan Fischer, who contends that the military outcome of the Battle of Europa, specifically the easy destruction of League space forces by their UN opponents, had a much bigger impact psychologically. Notes